Cycling Visionaries Awards - Project Details

BICIRED

BICIRED is a network conformed by non-profit organizations, civil groups and collectives working on behalf of cycling mobility in Mexico. We are pushing forward the bicycle agenda in our country through organized civil work, projects and campaigns. We’ve been working on national activities that make an impact on people, institutions, federal and local governments.

The “National network of urban cycling” BICIRED was born in 2008 as a result of the first national congress of urban cycling. It was during this successful gathering where many collectives and organizations had the opportunity to get to know each other and share experiences, but most important, we all agreed on the fact that in order to have a more bike friendly nation, we needed to work together.

Since that time, BICIRED has continued to grow in number and experiences. With more than 50 different groups and associations in 20 states around the country, we are working in the promotion of a safe and adequate mobility for bicyclists and pedestrians. There is a huge diversity among groups but also the will and ability to work towards a common good, giving a unique strength to the network since it allows integrating different learning experiences in our actions that influence mobility not only on a federal but at a local scale.

BICIRED has a horizontal structure that seeks consensual decisions and inclusive organization. There have been five national congress and three internal planning camps. Our work has been influencing public policy since the launch of 2010 campaign "Urge $ para la Bici" where we asked for federal funding for cycling. In 2011, we restated the need for budget with the “5%” campaign and some interventions in many cities during the international Parking Day. 2012 started with “Hazla de Tos” a successful campaign thanks to the participation of thousands of citizens in the country who made pressure through lobbying and thousands of letters to legislators and environment authorities to improve air quality.

We are aware of the impact of cycling for our environmental, economic, social and sustainable urban development in our cities, with actions such as our last “Desafío Modal” (modal challenge) we worked with other organizations that promote similar causes to evaluate the efficiency of the transportation modes: pedestrian, bike, public transport, car; in almost 20 cities in México, simultaneously. With this type of actions we aim to contribute to a new city model that prioritizes coexistence between different modes of transportation.